A method and tool are disclosed for separating a diced magnetic disk file slider from a tape to be removed by a picker. The diced slider is adhesively mounted on a wafer tape, at its attachment surface, with the air bearing surface away from the tape. The tape is positioned in a first plane, and a pushing device is projected into the tape near the leading edge of the slider to push the tape and the slider into a second plane at an angle away from the first plane. The pushing device is moved along the tape toward the trailing edge of the slider to cause the taut tape to peel from the mounted slider. A vacuum picker adjacent the tape engages the slider at the air bearing surface and removes the slider from the tape as the tape is peeled from the slider. A row of sliders may be separated by a corresponding row of pushers.